1998
Standard Disclaimers apply.
It was dark ...
So very dark....
And so cold....
The young blonde girl shivered as she looked around her. Cold, wispy tendrils of mist curled their intangible fingers around her feet, seeming to seep through her flesh and into her bones, sending icy shivers up and down her spine. The cold radiated through her body from within. Once, on a vacation trip with her adopted parents to the safari parks in Kenya, she had stood still in a clearing, her arms wide apart. The sun had beaten down upon her face and body mercilessly, sending its warmth and radiance to heat up her flesh in the most delicious way imaginable. What she felt now was similar - yet so very different. Now, it was not warmth but biting coldness. Before, the warmth wrapped itself around her in a gentle cocoon, comforting her and lulling her to a place where she felt oh so safe. Now the icy cold threatened to tear her apart, freezing her both inside and out. And the coldest part of her - where the feeling hurt the most - was in her chest. Deep within her chest.
Where her heart must be....
Relena Peacecraft was hurting. And Relena Peacecraft was not enjoying it one bit.
The girl peered through the darkness, swiping away at phantom sheets of cold vapor as she walked. Faster and faster she went, hoping to escape the cold mist that dogged her every step. They clutched at her as she moved, seeming to want her soul. Despair tore through her heart as she walked on. The darkness seemed never-ending. There were no paths to guide her, no safe beacon in the stifling darkness that threatened to drown her with each passing moment. And with every step she took, those frigid fingers seemed to come closer. Each time they reached for her, she could feel their icy touch digging deeper and deeper into her flesh.
The girl walked faster and faster, finally breaking out into a run. But still they came, still those icy wisps of nothingness flew across the darkness, curling around her feet and her legs. Still they dogged her, coming ever so much nearer and climbing ever so much higher. She gasped as she felt the icy coldness against her abdomen, enveloping her so thoroughly that she could hardly feel her legs. Tears sprang uncontrollably to her eyes as she sobbed out the desperation that clung to her heart like gigantic leeches that sucked out all her hope.
"Why? Why?" she cried, sobs wracking through her small frame even as the curling mists swallowed her body. She screamed - more out of frustration than fear - as the formless fingers tickled her face, mocking her with soundless laughter. Before, all she could see was darkness but now, everything was white. Yet, that whiteness seemed more desolate than the blackness that had surrounded her moments ago. This whiteness brought with it a sense of light, yet she could see nothing. It carried the smallest scent of hope yet reeked with the bitterness of disappointment. It did not stifle her as the darkness did, yet it choked her with its insidious tendrils that curled itself around her face like the arms of an ardent lover.
She fell.
There was no pain. It did not hurt. Even though she felt a solid base beneath her feet and her knees. Her palms encountered a soft solidity as she groped blindly. Yet, when she clutched her fingers, there was nothing there.
Nothing.
A soft keening wail rose from her throat, escaping her lips in tiny portions, yet increasing in pitch with each decibel, until it reached the strength of a full-blown howl.
One that only a desperate animal would make.
[I wait in the darkness,
Frozen winds, surround my face.
In the cover of darkness I can make believe, it's you.
I feel you like the rain, I feel you like a storm cloud, building in my
heart.
I wonder if you know the pain, to want the one thing that you haven't got.]
"They'll be ready soon," the braided boy chuckled to the silent Wing pilot. "Shinigami almost looks as good as new. And Wing seems just fine." Duo toyed with the tall glass of iced tea he had sweet-talked out of the matronly cook - 'Mariam' she said her name was - in the kitchen earlier, when he had finally given up on the desert heat and left Quatre with the technicians. That boy grew up in the desert, he snorted. Quatre'd feel comfortable in a furnace. Just looking at the shimmering heat rising from the ground outside made him feel hot.
The glass in his hand was cool to the touch, a respite from the blistering heat outside the temperature-regulated homestead. Duo lifted the glass up to his throat and ran it up and down his skin, enjoying the coolness of the water droplets that gathered there. "Ne, Heero? You want some more?" Duo asked, turning away from the window to pour himself more iced tea from the pitcher on the bureau. "Darn, I wish they had decent coffee, though," he muttered to himself. Mariam had tut-tutted when he'd even mentioned the beverage, claiming that ice would only dilute and contaminate the pureness of the bitter liquid. She'd only agreed to make him coffee her way - the traditional way. And once Duo had sampled what she had produced, he'd more than eagerly accepted the tea. He'd walked out of the kitchen - bidden farewell with a sloppy wet kiss and an affectionate pinch on the cheek - with a large pitcher of the cold drink, silently thankful for the escape from a very sweet death by the cook's version of coffee.
"No." Heero's flat tone brought a small pout to the braided boy's face. Heero'd been holed up in the den the whole morning, fiddling with the computer when he should have been enjoying himself in the lull they were currently experiencing. Duo shuffled over to Heero's side, peering over the other's shoulder at the monitor as he leaned against the plushy cushioned chair. He understood Heero's concern about potential missions - which was what Heero was probably scoping out for now - but he didn't see the sense in seeking them out deliberately. His contacts would make it clear when there was a mission or target that had to be taken care of. Duo knew they'd come, whether he wanted them to or not. But they would come when they came. Not sooner, not later. That he was adamant about. He'd had to face death too many times not of his own accord that there was simply no sense in actively pursuing it. Death would claim him one day, as it would all of them. Why make its job easier?
"Whatcha lookin' for?" he asked curiously - more for conversation's sake - as he sipped his tea. Heero remained silent, not even acknowledging having heard Duo's question. Various statistics flashed across the screen like quicksilver, gone before Duo even had time to blink. "How do you do that, Heero?" Duo wondered aloud, his eyes nearly crossing with the speed at which the screens changed. Already he could feel the small beginnings of a headache throbbing under his skull. Must be the heat, he thought absently. Duo drained his glass, leaving a few ice cubes melting at the bottom as he swirled them around.
Heero continued working at the keyboard, affecting not to notice the boy who was practically draped over the back of his chair.
Duo blew an annoyed puff of air at his bangs, lifting them momentarily to reveal clear violet-blue eyes. Heero was ignoring him! Gah! Heero was no fun when he was working. The Japanese boy's hair brushed against his hand, bringing to mind delicious memories of the past few nights of intimate exploration. Not all the way, he admitted, but nearly. A small smile played across Duo's face as he absently twirled several dark strands around his fingers.
"You know," he whispered huskily, "we're alone..."
Heero continued typing.
Fine! Time for Plan B, Duo grinned, a twinkle of mischief dancing in his large violet eyes. Tipping his glass over Heero's head, Duo carefully let a few drops of ice water drip onto his partner's hair and prudently stepped to the side. The droplets glistened among the dark brown strands, welling into semi-spherical globules before seeping through. Any minute now....
Heero froze.
"Aargh!" the Japanese boy screamed, abruptly standing. The chair shot backwards, spinning slightly on its little wheels, narrowly missing the braided boy.
Duo jumped back, very surprised at the unexpected reaction from his little trick. "E..eh, Heero...you were only supposed to be surprised, not..." Heero's hands clenched and unclenched almost spasmodically where they rested against the bureau top. Duo groaned inwardly. He was really in for it now. When would he ever learn to just leave Heero alone? I'mdeadI'mdeadI'mdead...
"Duo." The cold hiss only made the litany repeat faster in Duo's brain. Small beads of sweat erupted on his forehead despite the cool air of the den.
"H..hai?" the braided boy mewled.
A hand shot out and grabbed his wrist before he had a chance to even register Heero's movements. Before he knew it, Heero had him pressed between the hard edge of the bureau and his own wiry body. Duo gulped, staring into intense dark blue eyes as time skidded to a halt.
"Do you know," Heero finally spoke after several heart-stopping moments, "just how difficult it is to ignore you?" Heero allowed Duo a small shake of the head. "Do you know," he continued, pulling the other's face closer to his own, "just what it takes to not grab you whenever we're together in the same room?"
"No," Duo sighed as Heero's body pressed into his, molding to the contours of his own.
"Well," the Japanese boy half-sighed, half-groaned. "Now you do," he whispered against the slightly parted lips pressed so softly against his. A situation he definitely had to take advantage of...
[Just a twist in time and you could be mine
Just a sip of wine and you could be mine
Just a kiss divine... ]
The sudden sound of the door banging against the wall and a soft exclamation brought Heero's head up, only to be greeted by the pale face of someone he'd least expected.
Relena?
"Wha...?" Duo struggled in his arms, twisting to see just what wretched soul had interrupted his blissful moment. His eyes bugged out when he saw the crumpled figure on the floor. "Relena?!?" Duo exclaimed, echoing Heero's thoughts. "What the hell is she doing here?"
Heero snorted, straightening up and letting go of Duo. The other boy turned to him, took one look at his disgusted face and chuckled.
"Ha! Heero koi, she came after you, didn't she?" Duo began to laugh. This was all too funny. The girl puzzled him from the first time he laid his eyes on her. Then, she'd risked her life to protect Heero, even though the other had been trying to kill her. Subsequently the girl had managed to turn up in the most unexpected places, and more than once had threatened to jeapordise their missions by her mere presence alone. It was rather difficult trying to launch an undercover operation when the entourage of the figurehead of the Sank Kingdom dogged your every step, after all. It had finally dawned on him that the girl was head-over-heels in love with Heero. His Heero. To the extent that she couldn't see that her feelings were not reciprocated. Or could she? No one could be that blind, could they?
"How is she?" Heero muttered, standing stiffly behind Duo's crouched form as the latter checked the girl's pulse cursorily.
"She'll live," Duo grinned. "She just fainted. Must be the heat," he winked at the glowering boy behind him. "You don't think she saw anything, did you?" he added as an afterthought, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks.
Much to Heero's amusement.
"Hn. Does it matter?" Heero crouched behind Duo, draping his arms around the other's shoulders. "Why do you think she's flat out on the floor?"
"Anou, Heero..." Duo protested mildly as the other softly nuzzled his hair.
"We could just leave her there," Heero muttered.
"Yeah," Duo sighed, tilting his face to study Relena's calm expression. "Or we could dump her somewhere in the middle of the desert."
"Hai. Maybe the buzzards will take her home. It'd save me the trouble of killing her."
"Ya think?" Duo grinned back at Heero's stone-faced expression.
"No. With my luck, she'll probably get them to fly her back."
"Well," Duo sighed resignedly. "I guess we'd better get a medtech to take a look at her then... "
She sobbed.
Kneeling in the cloying mist, the small body trembled as silent tears ran down her cheeks. "Why?" she moaned softly. "Everything...everyone I've loved..." Shuddering tremors shook her small frame, huddled in the lonely desert of her unconscious. Her family that she never knew she had, the father she had thought her own and now...
Even he was leaving her.
But...
No! It can't be! They had gone not of their own free will. They were taken from her. They were dead! But Heero....
No, Heero was alive. He wouldn't leave. He couldn't! He loved her! Wasn't his hand the first that had brushed across her cheek ever so softly? Hadn't he cupped her face in his hand as he tenderly wiped away the small teardrop that formed when he told her that he couldn't make it to her birthday celebration? He had made it seem so nonchalant and callous but she knew....Oh yes, she knew...
She had prayed for him. God had given him to her when she'd wanted someone to fill the emptiness in her heart. Even surrounded by her peers and her parents' staff, she'd felt empty. Her life had been purposeless. Until that fateful day when God had answered her unspoken prayer and sent him into her arms. A dark pearl washed up on the sands by the raging seas as blue as his eyes...
He was hers!
[A hand brushes by my love.]
Hadn't he smiled ever so tenderly as he mocked her with a threat that
she knew was only a thinly-veiled attempt to rouse her curiosity? And now,
she knew exactly what he meant with those three words - she'd discovered
his penchant for literature - and she blushed each time she replayed that
sweet moment in her mind. So soon after they'd met and he'd already dared
to utter those words - that innuendo - to her. She was glad she
didn't know what he'd meant then. She would have died from embarrassment.
But didn't that prove that he'd wanted her, even then?
Didn't it?
"You do love me, don't you Heero?" her small voice pleaded in the silence.
"You love me, don't you?" she screamed into the nothingness.
[A smile fuels a steel inferno.]
"Relena?"
A voice. Calling her name. Was it ...? Could it be..?
"Heero?" Her own voice shocked her. She flinched at the rawness in it. She tried to open her eyes but they were so heavy. She felt as though she floated in a mass of wet cotton that made her every movement slow and clumsy. Finally, after much effort, a bright slit of golden light pierced her eyes; a light so bright, it hurt. A warm hand closed over her own and she felt herself curling her fingers around the comforting warmth. "Heero?" she breathed again, her voice slightly stronger than before.
"Iie, Relena-san," the soft voice answered. No. That was definitely not Heero.
Relena opened her eyes wider, involuntarily squinting from the sudden shift in brightness. "Where am I?" She was tucked in a bed in a large, tastefully furnished bedroom. Pale morning sunlight streamed from the two windows on either side of her, lighting up the room yet not falling directly on her. Beside her was a boy of about her age, with hair that immediately reminded her of the sun. Relena started.
"Ne, Trowa, I think she's finally among the living," the golden boy chuckled softly.
"Who...Where..." She winced as she tried to sit up, a nauseating sensation crawling up her belly at her sudden movement. "I think I'm going to be sick," she moaned, settling back into the pillow under her head.
"Ne, Relena-san. Don't try to get up. The doctor administered a mild sedative to help you sleep," the blonde soothed, replacing her hand on her stomach as he stood up. Another boy walked forward to stand beside him - taller, and with longer bangs. "I'm afraid we have never been formally introduced. I'm Quatre," the blonde continued, smiling. "This is Trowa," he gestured to the taller boy. "Yorishiku."
"Quatre Winner?" Relena asked through the sudden haze that had once again begun to fog her mind. That sedative must have been a strong one, she surmised. The blonde nodded with a small smile as she squinted at him. "What happened to me? I remember..."
Heero kissing...
"You fainted. Just after you arrived yesterday," Quatre explained.
"Yesterday? I was out for the whole night?"
"You were very...um...agitated. So the doctor suggested a sedative to calm you down. That could be part of the reason."
"I fainted..." She couldn't believe it. Relena Peacecraft did not - could not - faint!
"Perhaps you were exhausted by the journey. It can get very hot in these parts. Someone who's not used to it may get heatstroke..."
I saw him kissing someone...
The scene replayed itself in her mind second by slow second as Quatre's voice droned in the background. Heero - her Heero! - was kissing someone. Someone not her!
[You don't have to die to leave my world,
Stand still and you've departed.
It seems I'm not on your mind, I'm just wasting my time.]
"Relena-san? Are you alright?"
Relena started again in Quatre's presence, suddenly aware that she must have drifted off as the boy was talking.
"I'll go get the doctor," the other boy - Trowa - spoke, his voice low and even. Expressionless.
"Iie...I...I'm alright," she murmured. "I'm just tired."
"Still," Quatre observed, "that sedative should have worn off by now. Perhaps the doctor would be a good idea. Right, Trowa?"
The taller boy gave a small, indifferent shrug. He remained silent, his green eyes boring through her own as though he was searching her consciousness for answers to questions she herself did not know.
Relena sighed and closed her eyes. Let them do what they will. She was probably too drugged to protest anyway. As long as...
"Heero." Her eyes snapped open. "Heero-kun. Is he here?" she asked, suddenly frantic. In her heart of hearts, she hoped that the boys would shake their heads. That they would tell her that Heero was not around. That she had probably imagined what she saw.
Quatre nodded.
Then it was true. What she saw was real. Not a figment of her imagination...
Or was it?
Quatre had said that she was probably exhausted yesterday. Exhaustion could lead one to hallucinate, couldn't it? And it was very hot yesterday...
"Please, could you ask him to see me? I have to talk to him," Relena begged. "I need to talk to him."
Quatre stood stock still for a few moments before turning towards the lanky boy at his side. The girl looked so helpless and desperate in the big bed, seemingly swallowed by the pillows and the blankets. But he knew that Heero did not wish to see her. That he could gather from the way he looked as he carried her into the room yesterday. And the way Heero couldn't seem to get away from her presence fast enough....
"Please?" Her wide blue eyes spoke more than her voice. She had to see him. If only for a while...
"H-Hai," Quatre acquiesced, broken by the lost desperation in her eyes and her plea. "I'll tell him."
"Arigatou. Arigatou, minna-san," she whispered gladly as her eyes closed and she was lulled once more into the realm of dreams where a certain dark haired, blue-eyed phantom waited for her with open arms.....
[ I'm just a fool to believe
In the death of the night, can you feel me inside?
I wish that you could conceive ... ]
"I will not see her!"
"Aw... Come on Heero," Duo drawled, leaning back into the couch with his hands tucked behind his head, a wide, knowing smile on his ever-cheery face. "It's just for a little while. A few minutes at the most."
Heero glared at him from across the room, wondering how Duo could look so adorable and yet be so annoying at the same time. He'd been insisting on Heero meeting Relena ever since Quatre had brought the subject up during lunch. Heero had nearly choked when he heard Quatre's quiet suggestion then. Much to Duo's delight.
Him? Meet Relena? He'd been trying to get out of her way ever since he'd failed to kill her and now Quatre wanted him to see her of his own free will?
Heero had been ready to strangle Quatre for the very nerve of suggesting the idea.
"She's been asking for you, Heero," the blond pilot had said, playing with his food nervously.
Heero had given the blonde his most venomous stare amidst Duo's barely-stifled giggles. Heero had made no secret of his feelings about the girl that pursued him to the ends of the world. It had become something of an inside joke among the other boys - that the invincible Heero Yuy was scared of a fragile, little girl.
"Why should I?" he spat, turning away from the grinning Shinigami pilot. A huge oil painting of a desert caravan loomed before him and he trained his gaze on a particular golden camel that strangely began to resemble the person he'd been trying to avoid. Heero shook his head to clear the disturbing image from his mind. Even in the privacy of his bedroom, she haunted him.
"Heero," Duo sighed, suddenly serious. "She's in love with you. She'd do anything for you - except leave you alone.... Anou.." Duo paused momentarily, reflecting on this sudden bit of revelation. "But," he shook his head a little, "that's beside the question. The point is," Duo finally said as he stood up and walked to Heero's side, " this is just a little thing Heero. She just wants to see you." Duo's voice dropped to a cajoling whisper as his hands crept up to massage the Japanese boy's shoulders. "What's the harm in that?"
"But she'll just say the same things. She'll just stake her claim again. And I can't even kill her," the shorthaired boy muttered dejectedly. Damn! I should have killed her when I had the chance! But at the time, she reminded him too much of his past. Of a time when he had taken innocent lives - especially one that had shown him a measure of pure, unadulterated love. The memories had been too fresh then, and Relena had seemed to radiate that same innocence. Then.
Before he met...
"Heero?" Duo's whisper broke through his musing and he reflexively jerked his head towards the soft voice. "Do it for me?"
The Japanese boy sighed. His fate was sealed.
[Won't you leave me in the darkness,
Take away the pride and the dignity that's burning inside.]
Duo flashed him a devilish grin and gave him a thumbs-up as Heero grasped the door handle to Relena's room. "Go on, Heero," the long-haired boy coaxed encouragingly. "I'll be right here. If she tries to eat you, just holler."
Heero glowered and considered flipping Duo the bird, but he doubted that that would dampen the other's teasing mood. It would probably only make him worse. With his mouth set in a thin, hard line, Heero slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
Grinning, Duo settled against the opposite wall, his arms crossed. Seeing Heero finally disappear into the room, he gave a soft snort. Who knows? Perhaps things would resolve themselves after this meeting....
He couldn't really blame Relena for hounding Heero, after all. He knew the effect that Japanese pilot could have on people. She just needed to get her priorities straight, that's all. He doubted that she saw enough to put two and two together, and in a way, he was glad. He needed more time to get used to his relationship with the Wing pilot and for the time being, privacy was a very precious commodity. But with Relena's presence constantly looming over Heero, it was starting to get rather annoying. Heero wouldn't admit to their relationship in front of Relena - at least, not yet - that much he could be sure of. Heero wouldn't do that in front of anybody. Despite his seeming confidence, Duo knew that deep inside, the sullen boy was just as insecure as he was, especially where personal relationships were concerned.
Duo sighed. Meeting Relena face-to-face again was just another reality Heero had to face.
Relena was sitting in a high-backed chair by the window when he entered. She was looking out of the window, seemingly unaware of his presence. The afternoon sunlight caught her hair and brought out the pale golden highlights in a most flattering way, reminding him of another time when that same sunlight had brought out a dark honey halo from a different head of hair. The Japanese pilot sighed mentally. He'd almost wished this moment would stay suspended in time so that he could slip out unnoticed. But then, a certain idiot stood on guard outside the room and he knew that he wouldn't be able to take two steps before that magnetic blue-violet gaze would freeze him in his tracks.
Heero pushed the door closed in such a way that the click of the catch was obvious.
"Heero!" The girl whirled at the sound, seeing the silent boy by the door. "You came," she gushed, her eyes crinkling in happiness. "I knew you would!" Relena stood and swiftly skittered to Heero, latching onto an immobile arm.
"Heero-kun?" she asked, puzzled at his indifference. "Aren't you glad to see me?"
"You wanted to see me." The boy's voice was flat, devoid of feeling. "What do you want?" Heero shook the girl's grasp off him and moved towards the window, eager to put some distance between them.
Why was he acting so cold? What did she do? Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes and Relena heaved a deep breath to calm the confusion in her heart. No. Heero was probably concerned but didn't want to show his feelings. Men were so silly that way, she concluded.
"I came to see you...to tell you that..." She couldn't say it. It was too embarrassing. A hot flush seared her cheeks and she ducked her head coyly, ashamed at the way her body betrayed her feelings so obviously. She sat in the chair behind the dark haired boy, taking in the slim line of his body so beautifully defined by the faded jeans and the plain beige T-shirt he wore. The sight of him made her breath catch in her throat, even as his very presence made her heart race. He stood, still as a statue, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.
"I...I..." Relena took another deep breath. "HeeroIloveyou."
There. She'd said it. It wasn't that hard after all, she realised gladly. And her heart felt so much lighter now, relieved of that irksome burden. She looked up expectantly at the object of her desires.
And gasped.
Heero had turned to face her, a strange fire blazing in his suddenly icy blue eyes. His muscles seemed more defined now, brought to play by his tightly clenched fists. His face had twisted in a pained grimace. And...and...he was snarling! Relena shrank back into the chair, shocked by this side of Heero that she'd never seen, never thought he'd be capable of being. A tiny whimper escaped her lips as her heart contracted into a tiny, puckered point and a small voice laughed in the back of her head.
"Don't say that," the stranger-that-was-Heero said - nay, hissed. "You don't know me enough to say that."
"But Heero-kun..."
"Relena," he sighed as his shoulders slumped. Suddenly he felt so tired. Tired of running. Tired of denying. Tired of pretending. Tired of caring. "Relena, I don't love you."
Her lips quivered at his words and slowly, the doll-like face crumpled. Fat tears welled in the corners of her blue eyes, spilling over to slide slowly down her smooth, rounded cheeks.
K'sou! And I didn't even tell her what I really feel! Heero turned away, feeling like the lowest cur on earth and yet, strangely elated.
"You don't mean that," her tiny voice finally spoke.
Heero turned to face her once more, speechless. What? She still didn't get it?
"You didn't, did you?" Relena dabbed at her tear-stained cheeks, acknowledging Heero's silence as an affirmative answer to her question. Of course, he didn't mean it. He was just testing her. "You just said that to protect me. I understand," she nodded, affecting a smile. Heero was so thoughtful. He knew that someone he showed love for could be used against him in the war. He knew that she was an important component in the peace process, that her life couldn't be risked unnecessarily. That he'd be willing to sacrifice his own happiness for her safety was proof enough that the silent boy before her loved her with all his heart. "I understand."
[Can't you see I'm standing naked.
I'll bear all the crosses and the crucifixes you can provide.
If you could be mine.]
Heero gaped. His ears were deceiving him, right? All that time hanging around Duo's ceaseless chattering had finally affected his hearing. That had to be the explanation. No way did he hear what he'd just heard.
"I know what you really feel, Heero-kun," Relena said softly with a small smile on her lips as she stood up to stand before him, her hands reaching to clasp his. "You don't have to say it. I know you love me."
Heero was stunned.
And suddenly very, very mad.
"Kisama! Can't you get it through your thick skull? I. DO. NOT. LOVE. YOU!" The furious boy forcefully pulled out of Relena's grasp. "I LOVE SOMEONE ELSE!"
"Nani?" The suddenly raised voice carried through the closed door, catching Duo off-guard. He was getting rather bored - and a tiny bit concerned - with waiting for Heero and was already considering knocking on the door when the sudden commotion caught his attention. Duo put his ear to the door, hoping to catch some of the conversation within.
"NO!"
Her shriek reverberated shrilly in his ears. The girl stared after Heero's rapidly retreating back. "Heero! Stop! Damn you! I order you to stop!"
Heero stopped.
And turned.
His eyes fixed upon hers, silently promising a fate worse than death if she dared to utter another word.
Relena shuddered. If looks could kill, she had this sudden feeling that she'd be dead and buried by now. "Heero... please... " she mouthed, the syllables refusing to form into the sounds they were meant to.
"Relena," Heero growled as his hand grasped the door handle. "Get out of my life." And with that he yanked open the door, much to the surprise of a certain longhaired would-be eavesdropper who literally fell into his arms.
"Saa! Heero! Wha...?" Duo began to say but stopped as Heero grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out into the corridor.
"Come on. I have to get out of here."
In the room, Relena collapsed slowly to the floor, staring with almost vacant eyes at the now-empty doorway as the door slowly swung shut. Heero was gone. He didn't love her. And her last memory of him was a face twisted in anger and his back turned in scorn. He had left her. With his arms around him.
That boy.
That braid.
Slowly her world crumbled around her.
[Just a twist in time...You could be mine...]
--- TO BE CONTINUED ---
Shirin
Please send comments to: shirini@pc.jaring.my